Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has once again addressed detractors ahead of the launch of central database hub (PADU), saying that the initiative will unify the data from all the government agencies and ensure that targeted subsidies are distributed fairly among Malaysians.
He said on X (or Twitter) that when PADU is launched later, the information in all government databases (more than 270+ in all) such as personal information (name, identity card, age, gender, etc.), income information, vehicle information, child and dependent information, needs to be verified and updated to ensure that the government’s data is fair to the people.
Rafizi added that this is because the data from PADU will be used to ensure targeted subsidies are given to those who are eligible in the future.
Therefore, he said, the process of building this PADU involves the development of the largest data system ever created by the public sector and it involves the data of 32 million Malaysians that make up hundreds of millions of data points.
So I’m not surprised when there are dissenting voices who accuse the development of the PADU system as a waste because it involves contracts worth hundreds of millions of ringgit. I was waiting for this to be brought up.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramly
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will launch PADU on 2 January, 2024 and it will be open for three months for all citizens to verify and update their socio-economic data.
PADU was developed in-house
In the same post, Rafizi also listed 4 reasons why PADU is not a waste of public funds:
- PADU was developed entirely by civil servants from three main agencies (Ministry of Economy, Department of Statistics – DOSM and MAMPU) involving the cooperation of all other agencies. He says the strength of PADU is that it involves the entire expertise and energy of civil servants, not external consultants and contractors.
- Civil servants developed PADU using existing allocations and all existing infrastructure without having to open a new tender to the private sector. So it does not involve additional expenses.
- PADU was developed in a very short period which is seven months (from May 2023 to December 2023). It surpasses the implementation of system projects managed by the private sector in terms of the ability to complete the system for the needs of the government and the people in such a short period.
- PADU will not involve annual payments to private system providers because it is developed entirely by civil servants and is entirely owned by the government.
PADU was successfully prepared in a short period and without additional allocations due to the hard work of civil servants who have been working hard for seven months.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli
From the beginning, he said, he gave this challenge to the team made up of the Ministry of Economy, Department of Statistics – DOSM and MAMPU, adding that it’s an opportunity to prove the expertise that exists among civil servants.
I pray that the existence of PADU will bring great changes to the public service from the government to the people. The core team working on PADU will indeed continue to face challenges, but if there is praise for PADU, the praise is due to civil servants. Thank you to all civil servants and the entire team members from various agencies who have been working hard since May 2023 until PADU can be officially launched by the Prime Minister next week.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli
SAJA BUAT SISTEM BARU (PADU) SEBAB NAK BUAT DUIT?
— Rafizi Ramli (@rafiziramli) December 28, 2023
YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan meluncurkan Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) pada 2 Januari 2024 ini. Selepas itu, PADU akan dibuka selama tiga bulan untuk semua warga negara mengesahkan dan mengemaskini data sosio-ekonomi mereka.… pic.twitter.com/huOHg90c0u
